


Halloween Party

by Rioghna



Series: Holidays and other firsts [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, Halloween, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 07:31:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5120165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rioghna/pseuds/Rioghna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rumplestiltskin and Belle attend a Halloween party.  </p><p>Sequel to 'First Halloween'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Halloween Party

Halloween Party

"Must we go?" Rumplestiltskin asked in a questioning tone of voice most people would have thought him incapable of. Thus far he had gone along with Belle's desire to do things after the way of this world. He had put on a costume (well, he had magically turned himself back to his old impish self and that was close enough, anyway) and had handed out candy to the town urchins. Yes, he'd enjoyed it a bit, but it wouldn't do for anyone else to know that. Now he had Belle, dressed as she had been when they first met, before he'd fallen in love with her, but most certainly not before he'd noticed her as a beautiful woman, and he was looking forward to acting on as many of the fantasies that had followed as was humanly (or inhumanly, in his case) possible, or at least as many as she would allow. It hadn't helped his current mood that she had made it abundantly clear that she desired him just as much in his current scaly glory as she did in his more human form and was more than willing to indulge him. In fact, it was making the idea of leaving the house less appealing than usual, and doing nothing for the fit of his leather pants (he had forgotten exactly how tight they had been).

"Of course we must," Belle said, smiling sweetly. He'd asked her four times already and the answer hadn't changed yet, though it amused her to no end. Not that she wasn't as anxious as he to act on certain impulses that she had back in the Enchanted Forest, but she had promised. There was a time, not too long ago, that no one would have thought of inviting him. That was before it was discovered that he shared a grandchild with Snow White and her husband, making them family of a sort. Like it or not, Rumple loved his son, had done everything including tearing the world apart to get him back. But she knew that going from his previously largely solitary existence to discovering his true love was still alive, to getting his son back, and finding that said son had not only sired a son but with the daughter of the royal couple, both of whom seemed cheerfully determined to force him into being a part of their 'one big happy family' was a bit much. That he'd arrange unknowingly to have that grandson adopted by the woman who had been enemy, student, and, at one time almost his daughter, was an added factor that was enough to set anyone's teeth on edge. But go they would, and if she took advantage of the situation to tease him a little, well, he did deserve it after all.

The trip to the loft was more of an exercise than Rumplestiltskin had expected. He had never tried to actually drive in his old boots before, never even considered that it might be difficult. It gave him a new respect for how Regina managed to drive a car in those impractical heels of hers. It had proved more difficult even than getting Belle's skirts all in, though he was certain now why the style was no longer popular in this world (and he most certainly wasn't going to complain about her shorter skirts). It all combined to make him grateful for the roomy Cadillac, though.

Still, he was glad when they made it downtown in one piece, and in time for the festivities. Honestly, he was rather hoping they could put in an early appearance and be gone before the party was in full swing. It was being held in the loft apartment that had once belonged to Mary Margaret and Emma before the curse had broken, and after, had housed the entire clan until recently. Snow and David had bought a house not terribly far from his (not nearly far enough, but he couldn't say that, not where Belle was like to hear), a 'fixer upper', and were now camped out in it, as they renovated. That had led to its own set of changes. Bae, who had, after some convincing, moved out of Granny's and into one of his spare bedrooms, was now living with Emma in the loft. While Rumple was happy for his son, still, he had just gotten him back and having him leave so quickly, even if it was just to move across town, was a bit of a wrench. Not that he would ever tell his grown son that.

He helped Belle carefully out of the car, and took her arm, guiding her towards the steps that led up to the loft apartment. There was no one on the stair, and Rumple was just starting to wonder if perhaps they had managed to arrive before anyone else, when they reached the top of the landing. The door to the loft was open, and there were a couple of people having conversations in the hallway. One, Ruby, the town's resident werewolf, and a close friend of his lady love, detached herself and came to greet them. "Belle, you look amazing!" she said, giving her a big hug. "And Gold, you look..." she paused, clearly trying to find the right thing to say.

"Don't worry dearie, I promised Belle I wouldn't turn anyone into anything tonight, so you are safe to say what's on your mind."

"I was going to say you don't look half bad, you know, for a magical deal making imp."

"Ahh, and how many other magical deal making imps do you know?" he teased. "But thank you for the compliment." He bowed with a flourish. "You look quite stunning yourself." Ruby had combined her red cloak with a furry wolf hat with ears, a short skirt with a pinafore apron, and, sticking around the side, a tail. Added to the white stockings and high black heels, she was definitely a sight to see.

"Compliments, Papa? Belle, what have you done to my father?" Bae said as he stuck his head out in the hall. Rumplestiltskin's son had gone for simple with his costume, wearing what looked like a tunic he had borrowed from his lady's father, along with a sword. For a moment the young man just stared. Then he smiled. "Wow, Papa, went for the old stand by, huh?" was all he said. It was an interesting moment.  Here he stood, as Bae had last seen him before he'd gone through the portal, and suddenly, Rumplestiltskin was starting to reconsider whether this had been one of his better ideas. Then his son came out and gave him an awkward hug. The two of them were still working on getting themselves back to a good place, but the sorcerer returned it. It was good. "And Belle, you look amazing. I am not the least surprised that Papa fell for you."

"Why thank you, Sir," she said with a curtsey.

"That's your future stepmother you are flirting with," he reminded his son, but he was smiling. Nothing could make his life better than the fact that his son liked and approved of Belle. In fact, Bae had been part of the encouragement that led to his asking her to be his wife.

"Not at all, Papa. I mean she is the second most beautiful woman at this party..."

"Ahhummm," Ruby said.

"Sorry, Ruby, but family first. You still look great. But as I was saying, there's only one girl for me, and she's inside."

Inside, the loft was even more crowded. It looked like half the town was there. Three dwarves were in a corner, drinking beers and arguing about something, their picks slung over their shoulders. It actually looked like just about everyone had decided to revert to form. Snow White was dressed, unsurprisingly, in a white gown that looked a lot like the one she had got married in, minus the train (which would have lasted five minutes in the crowded room anyway,) and David, in his own royal finery was next to her, along with Emma Swan, the love of his son's life. Emma had somehow been convinced (or bullied or coaxed) into exactly the sort of dress her mother would have had her in, had she been raised the princess she was. Since she was more a jeans and tee shirt sort, she looked anything but comfortable.

"Rumplestiltskin," Snow White said, catching her first sight of him. With Belle on his arm, and his son by his side, he made his way through the crowd, many of whom had just noticed the couple. "You look...familiar," she finished.

"Thank you, your majesty. And you look much like you did on the occasion of your wedding." He bowed to the royal couple. David managed a smile, though he seemed just as surprised as the rest.

"This is what you looked like?" Emma Swan asked. "I heard you were different, but I wasn't expecting..."

"Green?" he asked.

"Leather pants," she shot back with something like a smile.

"Yes, well, the Enchanted Forest could be hard on clothes, and leather is hard wearing." The imp excused himself to the bar to get a drink for himself and his lady. With luck, she would not want to stay long, a drink, a few hellos, and then back home for their own private celebration. Actually, in deference to the leather pants in question he was trying very hard _not_ to think of his plans for the rest of the night.

"Hey, Gold, er Rumplestiltskin, ye' got a minute?" The voice belonged to a dwarf, the one formerly known as Grumpy. He had changed quite a bit since he had managed to get back with his own True Love, a former fairy named Astrid.

"I suppose I do. What is it you want?" he asked. He had nothing against the dwarves in general and even less with this one in particular who was not only a friend of his lady, but had leant a sort of rough support to their relationship around town, more than willing to tell people to lay off of them, at least once with his fists.

"It's about the apartment, you know, the one you're renting to Astrid. Thing is, there is that big empty storage room next door. It's full of a bunch of old building materials, not sure what they are from or for, but...see, Astrid and I are kind of thinking about, you know, tying the knot, like you and Belle. Only she really loves her place, and it's not like she could move in with me and my brothers. But..."

"If you wish to move in with Astrid, it's nothing to me. If there is a clause about single occupancy in the lease, that can be amended easily enough, but..."

"That's the thing. It's a little small for the both of us too. I was wondering... and I would do all the work myself, well me and my brothers, but that storage room isn't really of any use and..."

Suddenly the sorcerer could see the why and the nervousness of it. It had probably taken him weeks to come ask, though why he had chosen now...maybe it was his old appearance, the reminder of the deal maker. Regardless, what the man wanted seemed simple and obvious enough. Actually the room he was talking about was utterly useless for anything, and the apartment _was_ on the small side. "So what you want to do is, what, go though the wall and add another room to the apartment that is there?'

"Yeah, something like that. I could still pay the same as I'm paying for my part of my brother's place if you wanted to raise the rent, and like I said, we can do the work ourselves. You know I'm good at it."

"I will make you a deal. You can add onto the apartment. I will even amend the lease, to show the renovations, but you will have to go over then with me. Just to make sure that we aren't going to have any building code violations." The building inspector could be a bit difficult where Rumplestiltskin was concerned. Not that his properties were ever in violation, but he hadn't stopped trying. There had been a disagreement about a deal back in the old world, and the man held a grudge. He was just smart enough not to be too obvious about it. "In return, when it is finished, I will raise the rent commiserate with what my other apartments of approximately that same size go for."

"Yeah, and what's that?" the dwarf said carefully. Rumplestiltskin named a figure. He knew that it was actually below what Grumpy had offered him, but he was getting a lot of work out of the deal, and besides, if anything would put a bigger knot in the Blue Fairy's knickers than Astrid leaving and dating a dwarf, living with one and planning to marry him would make her almost apoplectic. He only hoped he was nearby when she learned. "You got yourself a deal," the dwarf said, holding out a hand. He shook it and turned back to his brothers, grabbing more beers on the way.

He made his way back to Belle, who was now talking to Doctor Hopper. Of all the men here, or at least the unmarried ones, Archie was definitely someone he trusted with Belle. "Here you are, my love," he said, handing her a glass of wine.

"Rumplestiltskin, I...uhhh."

"Do carry on, Doctor Hopper," he said. But before the cricket turned psychiatrist could continue, someone called his name.

"Rumple, old man, see you made it. Having fun scaring the peasants?" Jefferson asked. "And you as well, Belle. You look as lovely as ever. Are you sure..."

"Jefferson, stop teasing," she said with a giggle. The Hatter was probably the only person in the world that could have gotten away with that, as evidenced by Archie Hopper, who was looking like he wanted to get away from the firing line. "Rumple, I need to talk to Archie for just a bit," she said. "Why don't you show Jefferson where to get a drink?"

He nodded and led his more or less sane friend off. "All well?" he asked when they reached the kitchen.

"Tops. Grace says I need to get out more. She, Henry, Ava and Nicholas Tillman, and a couple of the other children from her class are holding their own Halloween party at my house. I've got Sarah from the diner chaperoning. I think my daughter is hoping I will find someone...well, you know."

"I do. Alice has been gone for a while now, my friend. Perhaps it's time to at least think about it."

"Perhaps, but let's face it, all the best ones are taken. So how did Belle manage to get you out of the house? I notice she is wearing a particularly fetching frock this evening. It looks familiar."

"Something about promising that I would."

"Practically domesticated. Who would have thought it?" the portal jumper teased, one of the few people who would feel safe doing so.

"Watch it, Jefferson. I can always turn you into something," he warned, but he was still smiling.

"Oh, you would never do that to Grace."

 

Belle circled the room slowly, looking for her love. The party was nice, but she was fairly certain that she had done her social duty, and now she wanted to take her lover home. In all his scaly glory, he was no less the man she loved. In fact, he was now exactly the man she had fallen in love with and she was looking forward to the next part of the evening, which involved fulfilling some fantasies that had kept her awake nights back in the Dark Castle. Oh, not specifically, her education in that area, like most women of her station at the time, was sorely lacking. It had never stopped her from feeling things though, things that she didn't fully understand until she came here. Now it was time. If only she could find him.

Then, as if the universe were responding to her request, the crowd parted, and she saw him. Rumplestiltskin had his back to her, talking to a woman who Belle didn't recognise. Moving over to stand next to him, she slipped her arm inside his. He paused, and when he turned, Belle leaned in a whispered in his ear, one word, "Home."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is very late. I actually indended to have it for last Halloween but life interferred. I also intended it to be a one shot, but there you go. Please, read, review and all those good things.


End file.
